Fall Come Quicker!

I haven't been able to post regularly lately but things are becoming more settled so-BACK TO NORMAL!
Has anyone else been itchin for fall? I have been eating lots of apples:

And pumpkin in my oats(I found organic-still no regular!):

Summer used to be my favorite season,but this summer I just can't take the heat! It must have something to do with getting old. I'm just dying to go to fall festivals and to be able to walk Mulder without getting heatstroke. I hate wishing time(life) away,so I am trying to enjoy what is left of summer and live in the moment but sometimes it is hard!
Tried this little goody(from Peter's of course!):
Haha check out Mulder all up in our business-love my boy!
This Macrobar was Almond Butter and Carob flavor. The texture was similar to a Larabar-except this sucker was pretty big! Me and Ry split it. The carob flavor was awesome-a roasted grain taste-almost coffee-ish- but if you don't like carob then you probably won't enjoy this. I happen to LOVE carob. The almond taste was there,but I expected a creamy almond butter component somewhere but no dice. Here is a photo of the bar nekkid:

All in all I think this was a pretty good bar-perfect for a meal on the go. A lot of times I am out and about and I'll dig into my purse for my emergency bar-this would work nicely for that because it isn't too sweet. If I am eating it as a meal I want to feel like I am eating real food and not a candy bar.

Hot German Cauliflower

I want to share my new favorite vegetable recipe with you! I call it German Cauliflower because it reminds me a lot of hot german potato salad-without the carbs-and of course-no bacon!
German Cauliflower

• 1/4 of a red onion,chopped
• 2 Tbs. margarine
• one bag frozen cauliflower,thawed in microwave
• liquid smoke
• salt and pepper

Melt margarine over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add cauliflower and about 1/4 tsp of salt and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add a little liquid smoke-about 5 drops will flavor the entire dish-trust me-and some fresh cracked black pepper. At this point I let it cook to get a little color on it-just don’t stir it up too much or the cauliflower will break up too much-I just shake it around every few minutes. Serve and ENJOY!

I served mine with a huge tossed salad and baked tofu with BBQ sauce for dipping.

Frozen Tapioca Mousse

Protein-style! Honestly, I didn’t take a picture of this because frankly, it is NOT pretty. It is quickly becoming my favorite night time snack though-so here is the recipe!
Frozen Tapioca Mousse-Protein Style!

• one scoop pea protein
• sweetener of choice-to taste
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup COLD water
• 1 Tbs cocoa
• 1-2 Tbs chia seeds

Vigorously whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until mixture starts to thicken. Freeze for an hour or so,stirring every 15 minutes or so. Add a few scoops of nut butter and ENJOY!
The seeds get that jelly texture that is so appealing , not to mention that there is nothing bad in this dessert-it is guilt free! I added my homemade cashew butter to mine, but you can leave that out if you are watching calories.

Yeah, I put it in my empty almond butter jar-What of it?
Cashew Butter

• 1/2 lb raw cashews
• 1 Tbs bland oil-I used regular ole vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

Roast cashews in a single layer at 350 degrees until just starting to brown-it takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool to the touch and whir in your processor until it makes a coarse meal. Add oil and continue to process until it is as smooth as you like it. Add salt and go another few seconds. Transfer to container and keep refrigerated.
CAUTION: This stuff is RICH! I can handle really rich foods but this takes it to the limit! Use like you would any other nut butter,but just be aware that the amount you usually use may overwhelm you in this case-it did me!

Breakfast Of Vegan Champs!

I think back to all those years I thought I didn’t have time for oatmeal-mostly because I was out the door before 5 am and didn’t have time to inhale hot oats or time for anything for that matter. I tried for awhile to make it on my break but considering it was only 15 minutes long it was impossible to make anything or eat anything hot without burning my mouth off. Yeah, I ate A LOT of bananas for breakfast then. I wish I knew about overnight oats then or even better:

Raw oats! I love them this way. I just mix 1/2 cup raw rolled oats with 1/2 cup silk yogurt-I usually use jam and PB on it too-it is insanely good. Chewy,nutty and yes,very quick. I always add some fruit to the mix and you seriously have a great breakfast!

Full Fridge!

I have been miserable about grocery shopping lately-just not wanting to go! I actually love it,I have just been lazy about leaving the house lately. Today however we HAD to go and I had a little extra motivation because I had a partner in crime with me-the hubs! We haven’t went shopping together in years but we did today and it made it way more fun! How good it feels to have a full fridge again:
We spent $98 but we had to get A LOT of staples-oil,soy sauce,litter-so much stuff! Blueberries were 2 for $3-major score there! Oh yeah and even though we are on a budget we always have to get something for little man:
Horrible pic I know but as you can see Mulder was on this like white on rice and we had to be quick! This was $6.49 but it was worth it to see this happy face:
Sweet baby.
Totally vegan too. And yes,we both tried some and it tasted just like a healthy gingerbread cookie-lucky dog! Now we are off to spend a rare night off together-enjoy!

Keeping Puppy Cool

Today was 90 degrees and as humid as a sauna. Even our furniture inside was damp-there was no escaping it! It sucks for us of course but I feel bad for our furbabies on days like today-the cats sprawl and look miserable and Mulder pants all day. I saw this contraption for dogs that is a collar that you wet and freeze and it keeps them cool-except that it was $20! I decided to try something out myself and it worked great-I just wet a bandanna,squeezed it out and tied it around my buddys neck. I put a blankie on the floor and parked a fan on him and I could see the change in him immediately. Here are some behind the scenes photos:
Mom! This is too embarrassing! Why is everything pink!
Alright fine-here is your photo op…
Now leave me alone and let me shoot the breeze!
Poor buddy-I really can’t help but think that HE thinks I torture him-he is just too funny though. Also don’t mind my floor-it isn’t dirty,we just didn’t finish it yet. In keeping with the cooling down the puppy theme,we also gave him one of his fave treats-frozen yogurt! I just pop a Silk Yogurt in the freezer and put it in his dish when it is almost frozen.

Cheap Almond Butter!

Find of the day! Went to Peter’s and got this almond butter on the clearance shelf for $3.50! I think normal price on it is $7. It is actually the first almond butter that I really liked. As I said before I love(OBSESSED) with  peanut butter,but almond butter usually doesn’t excite me that much-usually too bitter or overly sweet tasting. This one is perfect-I have been eating it every morning on my oats and it is smooth with a little grittiness and some larger slivers of almonds in there as well. It is just lightly salted and has no added sweeteners. It was a little tough to stir the oil in the first time-get ready to be a little messy-but once it is stirred and refrigerated it stays the perfect consistency.